Algae and Grasses

c-print on glossy paper series
20091004_algae_I | 20091007_algae_II | 20091004_grasses_I | 20091007_grasses_II | 20091007_grasses_III | 20091007_grasses_IV

c-prints on glossy paper 120 x 90 cm
photos alexandra reill | hoy / uk 2009
production kanonmedia | hoy / uk | vie / a 2009

20091004_algae_I

algae (ăl`jē) [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plant kingdom, the thallophytes thallophyte, common name for members of the Thallophyta (or Thallobionta), a taxonomic group in some archaic classification systems that comprised algae, fungi, and lichens. (1)

20091007_algae_II

[…] More recently, most algae have been classified in the kingdom Protista […] or in another major group called the eukarya (or eukaryotes), which includes animals and higher plants. 

The algae have chlorophyll and can manufacture their own food through the process of photosynthesis. […] They are distributed worldwide in the sea, in freshwater, and in moist situations on land. Nearly all seaweeds are marine algae. (1)

20091004_grasses_I

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida (the monocots) of the flowering plants. Plants of this family are usually called grasses, or, to distinguish them from other graminoids, true grasses[…] (2)

20091007_grasses_II

the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo (there are also herbaceous, non-woody bamboos). (2)

20091007_grasses_III

There are about 600 genera and some 9,000–10,000 or more species of grasses (Kew Index of World Grass Species). […] The term “grass” is also applied (incorrectly) to many grass-like plants that are not members of the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes (Juncaceae) and sedges (Cyperaceae). (2)

20091007_grasses_IV

This broad and general use of the word ‘grass’ has lead to plants of the Poaceae often being called “true grasses”. (2)

(1) Author unknown: Algae. In: The Free Dictionary, http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/algae, access: 2009/10/14
(2) Authors’ collective: Grasses. In: Wikipedia (EN), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasses, access: 2009/10/14